Lana Marks Goes West and Expands East

Last weekend, Palm Beach designer Lana Marks headed out to L.A. to mingle with the stars and promote her luxury handbags as must-haves for the Hollywood set.

Marks has her sights set on establishing her brand in China, having opened a Beijing boutique last August.

“Our projected expansion into China calls for nine free-standing stores in China within four years,” she said.

In L.A., Marks did a little product placement, of course, as she has over the past several years, getting her bags into the hands of many Oscar-winning actresses such as Charlize Theron and Helen Mirren.

But in keeping with her current China focus, this time around Marks “collaborated” with Jingchu Zhang, a young Chinese movie star, who carried two versions of the designer’s signature Cleopatra clutches to the Feb. 26 Independent Spirit Awards, at left, and to the Elton John AIDS Foundation party on Feb. 27, which she attended with Marks, at top.